Idiot. His leaving the frontbench means that he has resigned as a minister of the government, backbencher MPs are still in parliament aren't they after all, members of the government such as the Cabinet ministers sit at the front, and their counterparts, the shadow cabinet, sit opposite them, whereas those without an official government brief or job sit further back. It just means that now he has no official government job, but should in fact be able to speak his mind more freely